How to start using the BEEP app

You can open the app on your computer or mobile phone by pressing the 'Open the app' button here above, or by entered the following web address in the browser on your device: http://app.beep.nl. BEEP is a webapp. This means that you can use the app on your mobile phone, computer and tablet. The data is the same on all devices and you just need one account. You can register for using the app by clicking 'No account yet? Register as a new user'. After entering your email address and password (minimally eight characters), you can start using the app. The app can be used at no extra charge. If you may forget your password, click on 'Forgot your password?' and enter your email address and you will receive an email with a link to create a new password. When you a logged on, you do not need to log on again on the same device when you open it next time.

You can open the main menu by pressing on this icon: The main elements of the menu are:

Creating an apiary

Step 1 is to create an apiary with at least one beehive. The apiary is the physical place where your hive(s) are placed. In this screen you can enter basic data on the apiary: name, address and number of hives. When you enter the full address, the other fields will be filled automatically as for example the gps location.

Below the basic details of the apiary, you can start creating the hives in the apiary by entering the number of hives and the configuration of the hives. They can of course differ, as for example the number of brood chambers, which you can specify in the details screen per hive in the next step.

Entering hive details

By clicking on the newly created hives, you can access and edit the details per hive. You can also enter additional information. The second part of this screen allows you to register data on the queen. In case you move hives from one apiary to another, you can change the location of the hives in this screen.

Registering queen details

The specifics on the queen can be managed in de second part of the hive details screen. When the queen is marked and given a colour, this will be visible in the overview of hives.

Keeping hive records

You can open existing and new hive records by clicking on this icon: You can enter the details of the manual inspection. When you want to enter a backlog of inspections, you can do this by selecting the appropiate date. The inspection is subdivided in several chapters. You do not need to fill out all fields. Only the data you fill will be presented in the inspections overview..

Consulting inspections

Clicking on this icon allows you to see previous inspections. They are presented next to eachother, sorted by date which you can nagivate by scrolling left and right.

Keeping overview

Overviews of the hives is available by selecting 'Apiaries' or 'Hives' from the main menu. The overview contains the names of the apiaries and hives and for each hives the colour of the queen is shown when selected. An exclamation mark incidates that the hive needs attention is that is indicated in the last inspection.

Reporting errors

By clicking on the icon, you will access the menu again. You can use the feedback button to report any issues you came across when you use the app. The feedback can be shared per email. Some basic details of your device and system are included in the report to help resolve the issue.

Sensors

In the coming months (end of 2017, early 2018) the concept digitale monitoring system will be developed into a prototype. See here below an example of the use of this type of automatic monitoring. The graph shows the weight of the hive over the last 24 hours. The weight decreased during the night mostly due to evaporation of water. In the morning bees leave to forage and return soon after with food, adding weight to the hive. This is healthy pattern for a bee colongy. If this pattern differs during days with favourable weather conditions and ample food in the neighbourhood, this is a reason to be alarmed and inspect the colony. Weight in combination with other measurements (e.g. sound, temperature, humidity, movement) can give a complete image of the health of a bee colony. Digital monitoring systems which include an API (application programming interface) can be integreted in the BEEP app.